Jealousy
by silly escape
Summary: Breaking up is hard to do, but what about getting that special someone back? What happened with Jessica and Mike during the summer of Twilight.
1. Jessica's Boyfriend

_**Jealousy**_

by silly escape

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to Bronzehairedgirl, and Butterscotch who are both spectacular betas!

_**Part 1: Jessica's Boyfriend**_

I couldn't understand why Mike had broken up with me. He'd used every cliché in the book. _It's not you, it's me. We can still be friends. I need space._ Seriously. Actually, I did know what it was all about, no matter what he said. Bella Swan. He'd had a crush on her from the beginning, but when she somehow snagged Edward Cullen, it made her the forbidden fruit. It was the beginning of the end for us. Maybe the same thing would work for me. I had to give it a try.

It hadn't been easy to find someone. I needed someone who would make him jealous. He was friends with all of the cool guys, and none of the others would bring out the green-eyed monster in him. But fate had finally smiled on me in the unlikely embodiment of my cousin Nick. Or, more specifically, Nick's college buddy, Kyle. They'd come up to Forks for a couple weeks of hiking and fishing. I'd never met Kyle before in my life, but Mike didn't know that. The thought made me smile as I entered the Newton's store.

"Hi, Jess," Mike called from behind the counter. He frowned briefly, then, with a tentative voice, asked, "Can I help you?"

"As a matter of fact you can. I'm looking for a present." I fluttered my eyelashes.

Mike emerged from behind the counter. "Did you have anything specific in mind?"

Damn! I hadn't thought about the fact that I would actually have to buy something. Something utterly useless, as I couldn't _really_ give it to Kyle. Maybe Mom and I would draw Nick's name for the family gift exchange at Christmas.

"Something romantic," I sighed, making sure to lift my chest.

Mike's eyes wandered for a moment. He grinned sheepishly and asked, "What about a price range? That might help me make some suggestions."

"I don't know, fifteen, maybe twenty dollars?" I shrugged. "Maybe more if it's something just perfect." Let him think about that.

"Who's it for? That might help, too," he demanded.

That was easy. "My boyfriend. His finals are over, and he came to visit for a while. Blowing off some steam now that his freshman year is finished."

He took the bait. "You're dating a freshman?"

"In college," I added coyly. He raised his eyebrows. I had him hook, line and sinker. Now to reel him in. "He's on the soccer team. Lots of muscles. Soccer players have to be such great all-'round athletes, you know."

Mike went into sales mode. "How about a battery powered shower?"

I wrinkled my nose and shook my head. "That sounds kind of girly for someone like Kyle."

"We have micro-tools in all price ranges," he assured me.

"What's a micro-tool?" I feigned interest.

"It looks kind of like scissors or pliers, but it has lots of tools you can use for hiking or camping." He held up some contraption with little parts coming out all over.

Looked like something that geek, Eric Yorkie, would use. "No." I puckered my lips as I spoke. I'd made sure to use a new lipstick that made my lips look pouty.

"Here's a Coleman LED Micropacker lantern. It has two really bright LEDs, and this reflector slides up so it will project light, too." He showed me how it worked, exhibiting all the moving parts.

"Hmmmm, that's nice. What else?" I looked up at him, batting my eyelashes again.

He glanced around the shop, his eyes landing on a higher shelf. "If you're willing to spend a little more, this is a really cool lantern. It has a remote control. You can turn it on from up to thirty feet away." He picked up a clicker and squeezed it. The lantern began to glow.

Oh, this was tedious. How did people get excited over these things? It wasn't like it was a new purse or a trendy skirt. This wasn't anywhere near as cool as an iPod. I couldn't imagine working here like Bella did. Sure, Mike's parents owned the store, so he was stuck. Maybe Bella liked leading Mike on. Oh, what was Mike saying?

"Maybe a hammock? You can get a pretty good hiker's hammock for around twenty bucks. Not anything deluxe, but a decent nylon corded one." He led me across the store.

"That could be fun even when you're not hiking," I mumbled just loud enough for him to hear. I flashed him a grin to make sure he picked up on the implications of that statement. He handed me what looked like a bag of rope. Fine. It was under twenty dollars. I tried to look a little embarrassed about what I'd said – I wished I could blush like Bella. "Kyle would love it. I'll take it."

While Mike rang up the hammock, I leaned against the counter. It hit right at my chest, so I could accentuate the positive. Sometimes, being short was a blessing. I handed him the cash, and he tossed the receipt into the bag with my purchase. "Don't you have gift wrap?" Mike just rolled his eyes.


	2. Mike's Hope

_**Jealousy**_

by silly escape

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the authors. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.

Thanks to Bronzehairedgirl, and Butterscotch who are both spectacular betas!

_**Part 2: Mike's Hope**_

I watched Jess as she left the store, shaking her hips to get my attention as she crossed the parking lot. The girl would never learn. I should have never agreed to go with her to the dance. Jess was just not my type; there was really only one girl for me. Unfortunately, she seemed permanently stuck to Cullen. Whatever, there was nothing special about that guy. Maybe now that she was working here I could win her over. As if bringing my fantasy to life, Bella walked in for her shift. On her heels was Cullen. God, couldn't he just go away?

"Hi, Mike," Bella said as she walked to the stockroom to punch in. Cullen leaned on the counter waiting for her to come back out. Seriously, who did he think he was, standing there like he owned the place? Suddenly he laughed at nothing. The guy must be crazy.

"What's so funny?" He must be hearing voices in his head. Cullen laughed even harder at my question.

"Mike, you are just a funny guy," he said dryly as Bella came back out of the stockroom.

"What's going on?" Bella asked, cautiously looking between the two of us.

"Oh, nothing, Mike was just being funny," he replied smugly and leaned down to kiss Bella. I turned away; watching them kiss was revolting. I moved away from them as they said their goodbyes several times over. I swear Cullen was still laughing as he left. I walked over to the sleeping bags and began refolding them.

"So, anything exciting happen today?" Bella asked, finally paying me some attention.

I shook my head. "Not really." But then I remembered the strange visit from Jess and the talk of her new boyfriend. It didn't really bother me, but I kind of wished I had found someone first. No guy wants to look like a loser and have the ex date someone new first. But if I could get Bella, it wouldn't matter. "Just out of curiosity, what do you know about Jess' new boyfriend?"

"Huh?" Bella looked confused. I couldn't imagine Jess not telling Bella about this new guy.

"You don't know Jess' new boyfriend?" Bella lifted her eyebrows in shock at my statement.

"I have no idea who you are talking about. Is it someone from school?"

I shook my head. "Nah, some college guy."

"College guy?" Bella echoed. She chewed on her bottom lip as she thought. It was just about the hottest thing she could do. "You mean Kyle?" Oh, so she did know.

I stopped folding the sleeping bags and looked at her directly. I gave her the slightly wounded puppy dog eyes. Who could resist those? "So are you telling me she does have a boyfriend?"

"Umm…" she paused; obviously she was trying to protect my feelings. "I think Kyle is just a friend of her cousin's."

"Really? Then why would she tell me he was her boyfriend and buy him a present?" As the words spilled out of my mouth, she started to laugh. What was it with everyone laughing at me today? Maybe Cullen was rubbing off on her.

"Mike, did you ever think that maybe Jess was trying to make you jealous?"

"Jealous. Jealous of what?" My brow creased as I thought about her question.

Again, she looked at me surprised. "Sometimes girls do things to get a guy's attention. You did break up with her, so maybe she is using this Kyle guy to get your attention."

"Girls do that?"

Bella patted me on my shoulder. "Yes, they do." She walked away to help a customer who had just approached the counter. I watched her walk, and it was so much better than watching Jess. And Bella didn't even try to make it look good—it just did. Maybe that was it. Maybe Bella was just trying to make me jealous with Cullen. She did say that girls did that sort of thing; Cullen was just a way for her to get my attention. I smiled to myself. The door opened again, and two more customers walked in. One of them I recognized immediately—Nick.

I walked over to help them and to check out the new guy. "Hey, Nick, how's it going?"

Nick and I had played football together; it should be easy to get to the bottom of this boyfriend thing.

"Newton, what's up? This is my friend Kyle." I gave the obligatory nod and he returned it.

"You know, Jess was just in here buying her boyfriend a gift." Kyle and Nick looked at each other, confused.

"Jess was in here shopping…and for what boyfriend?" Nick looked puzzled, as he raised one eyebrow in question and for the first time today, it was my turn to laugh.

"Umm… aren't you her boyfriend?" I looked directly at Kyle. Both of them burst into laughter.

Immediately, Nick started to rib Kyle, "Oh, someone has a crush on you, you big, studly man." Nick was ruffling Kyle's hair and pinching his cheeks. Kyle was slowly becoming the tomato red that often appeared in Bella's cheeks. Nick continued his torture, "I wonder what Abby will think about your other girlfriend." We all laughed at that one. I helped them find what they were looking for as Nick continued to tease Kyle. Once the guys left, I thought about how desperate Jess must be to invent a boyfriend.

I watched Bella arranging impulse products on the counter. I couldn't help but wish Cullen wasn't real, either.


End file.
